It's been a New York Minute

You: Where the hell have you been? It's been months. You didn't call, you didn't write. You could have been lying dead in a gutter somewhere and I wouldn't have known!
Me: I know. I'm sorry. I could give you some made up excuse for my lack of communication, but what's the use at this point? I know my actions cannot be forgiven.

Are we romantically challenged?

So being unemployed has resulted in quite a bit of channel surfing. As I mentioned in my last post, OTH has been crowding my DVR, as have old episodes of SATC, The OC, The Bachelorette, HIMYM, and other countless dramedies and sitcoms.

Today I caught an old SATC episode in which Aidan and Carrie have just begun dating. And of course, the ever-insecure Carrie thinks that after a week and a half of dating but not sleeping together, that Aidan just wants to be friends. Aidan takes her out and at the end of each date he has to go home and feed his dog and doesn't want to come in. She's unsure if he's putting her in the friend zone or if his excuse for not staying over is legitimate. After discussing it - and by discussing it, I mean she slams the door in his face when he says he can't come in, Aidan takes the opportunity to explain that he simply doesn't want to rush things. He's been down this road before where he sleeps with someone too quickly and here he stands before her, still single. And apparently he doesn't want to do that with her. He thinks he can see himself caring for Carrie, if you will and he wants to get to that point before getting down between the sheets. After all, it had only been a week and a half at this point.

Strengths Finder

After my post yesterday I decided to go out and buy the book that I had heard about - the online personality assessment to determine where my strengths lie. It's called Strengths Finder 2.0 by Tom Rath. After reading part 1, I came to realize that everything it was telling me was inherently true. The gist of the book is this: all too often people focus on their weaknesses and do their best to overcome them. They try to work so hard on the areas where they come up short in their lives...to try to achieve balance and become a more "well-rounded" individual. But Strengths Finder 2.0 encourages us to focus not on what we do poorly, but what we do well. It helps us take a look at what we excel in, and teaches us how to capitalize on those strengths in whatever it is that we're passionate about.

Apparently, I've Got It All Wrong

So as most of you know, I've been job searching and trying my damndest to find opportunities out of state, specifically in New York. I just know that my golden opportunity is out there but I haven't yet figured out what that opportunity is.

Tuesday I went to a career fair for all UGA alums. I did my research ahead of time and knew which companies I wanted to seek out while I was there. So I met with each of them and one of them turned into an impromptu informal interview.

Job Search Update

So, as most of you know, I'm an Atlanta native. Been here my entire life except for the 4 years I spent in Athens going to school. And as most of you know, I love Atlanta. I truly do. I'm proud of my city, proud of the south (as long as no one's being obnoxious about red-neck "southern pride" with Confederate flags hanging out the window), I love my friends, my family, the parks, the festivals, the spring and the fall. But I am itching for something new. Having no job right now has really got me thinking that I want to take an adventure to somewhere new, unfamiliar and exciting. I mean, truly, the world is my oyster. I'm job-less, perpetually single (apparently), and I can't imagine a more perfect time to pack up my life and get the hell out. Now if only I can find the right job in the right city...

Did I do this to myself?

So those of you who read yesterday's post know that I had this dream job land in my lap, right? And I had all these intentions of working on my resume at night and writing a kick-ass cover letter, talk about myself for a full 300-500 words and get hired and give my 2 weeks notice at my current job and never have a day of unemployment. Well, I think I jinxed myself. Because yesterday, at 4:30pm, my boss paid me a visit and decided to let me go. So I'm officially unemployed. And while I do get a severance package, I didn't really plan on not having a job to go to for the next 3 weeks, but alas, yesterday happened and my job is no-mas.

A New Frontier

June will be four years. Four years of my life that I've spent with the same company, doing the same thing, over and over and over. Sure, I've gained some marketable skills over those years. When I look back at my 22-year-old self, I'd say I'm much older and wiser now than I was back then. I've learned how to truly adapt to a business setting of 9-5. I've cultivated relationships with lots of people and definitely feel as though I've contributed a fair amount to the company. But the monotony has got to stop. I can only continue doing what I'm currently doing for so long before I do something stupid. I've decided it's time. Time to embark on a new adventure.

This is not to say that I don't thoroughly enjoy the people I work with on a day-to-day basis. My boss/mentor has taught me a ton and she truly is a great person to work for. And all the part-timers, I'm going to miss dearly. But I just don't think I can continue to work here for the rest of my life like so many people of our parents' generation have done. I need something new, exciting, scary and motivating. I want to work somewhere a little closer to the city. I want to put my skills to use in new and exciting ways that challenge me. I want to use some of those skills that I don't get to use very often. I want to write, I want to take an active role in my community and I want to love to go to work every day. Is that so much to ask?

This is why I need a real-life Barney Stinson in my life

So a couple weeks ago, I was getting psyched to be a "Have-Knot" at a wedding coming up - and don't get me wrong, I still am psyched. The wedding is a short 12 days away and I'm quite looking forward to the festivites. But yesterday the weight of being 25 and single kind of hit me like a sledge-hammer and it didn't bode well for my mood. I decided to compensate for it by drinking margaritas on a sunday night. Probably not the best way to kick-off the week, but I supposed they don't call it Sunday Funday for nothing, right?

Watch This! Wednesday is back!!

Man have I been lax with this weekly special recently. Sorry I'm not sorry...not posting means I have some semblance of a life...so that's fun. But alas, I am here today and I'm going to do my damndest to start posting these pretty regularly again. Today's WTW is something that I became slightly obsessed with a few months back when my best friend Stuart told me about it. Some of you may already enjoy this but for those of you who haven't discovered this yet, allow me. Today I give you: Very Mary Kate. Below are a few of my favesies. Enjoy!

Nail on the Head: Ambiguous Dating

We've all been there - we get ourselves into what we think is a "relationship" - hanging out with someone pretty frequently, taking things a little further and then you cross an invisible line and wonder "where is this going?" Time to DTR, right? Of course, you don't want to be the one to do it. And men are kings of ambiguity these days. Well, today I've found an article that can totally help all of us who want to broach this subject with our man but haven't figured out the best way to do it. I present to you: 5 ways to tell if he's really, actually looking for a relationship.

Will the Have-Knots Please Stand Up?

Wedding Season is upon us. It's April, which means the next 6 months will be filled with couples showers, bachelorette parties and of course, the ever-impending nuptuals of some of our best friends. Every twenty-something goes through this, pretty much every year, until they're well into their 30s. And even then, sometimes, they have another sweep of friends who are either "finally getting married" after dating someone for 7 years, or, in the extremely lucky cases, friends who are on their second marriage. (AmIright?) Being 25, I'm right in my prime for the next 6 months to be filled with "wedded bliss" every year for the next 4 years of my life, at least. Now, a girl can dream that her own wedding will fall into this 6 month period at some point, but the truth of the matter is, I don't see that happening any time soon for me. I'll probably be in the 2nd sweep, the 30 something sweep, when everyone is "so over" going to their friends' weddings. But ya know what, you better believe that every single person who's wedding I attend will be getting an invite from me as well. It's only fair, right? I'm shelling out money for your happy day when, let's face it, I'm broke - so it's only fair that those of us who refuse to grow up have to wait 10 years longer for Mr. Right get to be showered with attention and gifts from our far richer friends by the time we actually move from being a "have-knot" to a "have". (I'm only half kidding here - I love my friends and I'm glad that they want to include me in their big day, but until I'm in their shoes, I don't think I'll every truly appreciate all of the festivities as much as they do.)

Now some of you may be wondering "what the hell is a 'have-knot'?" And some of you may be clever enough to figure it out. And some of you may even be familiar with the literary genius that IS Aaron Karo, whom I've referenced before.

Day 1 of re-evaluation: success

So yesterday was the first real day that I put into action my new mindset and goals of this new life of mine. Not only did I eat healthily and work out for an hour, I also abstained from alcohol, didn't drunk dial and made it to bed at a decent hour! Yeah bitches. That's right! What do you mean "uhh it was a Tuesday"? Who cares if drinking and drunk dialing aren't already a part of my Tuesday routine? The point is, I abstained. And I beat myself to a bloody pulp last night at the gym. Seriously, I was exhausted but I kept pushing to burn those few extra calories. And dammit, I did a great job if I do say so myself. Sure I may have sweated buckets and wanted to kill myself by the end, but that just means it's working, right? Right.

It's time to re-evaluate my life

When I was in college, I spent one year living in the sorority house and 1 of my 3 roommates would decide, after about 2 months of drunken debauchery, that she should re-evaluate her life. This usually occurred after a particularly crazy night of partying that resulted in some not-so-smart decisions. You wake up in the morning, full of regret, wishing you hadn't had that last tequila shot, and thinking, if I could do this night over again, I would. And I would change everything. But you can't. You can't change anything. And you did take that last shot right before you made that poor decision. And you begin to feel that the only way to make up for this self-destructive behavior is to "re-evaluate your life".

Sweet Dreams Are Made of These...?

Ok, this morning I was in one of those dreams where I absolutely couldn't wake up. I hit my snooze legit 15 times and I kept picking up right where I left off before the alarm started ringing. One of my childhood best friends has recently gotten engaged (like for realz, not just in the dream) and all of a sudden I'm her wedding planner/maid of honor. This is the most ridiculous thing in the world, first of all. I mean, yes, we're still friends and I'm sure I'll be invited to the wedding but...maid of honor? No. In no way, shape or form is that happening. And unless I'm subconsciously desiring to quit my day job and become a wedding planner a la J Lo in the loveable Matthew McConaughey chick flick, I don't see that happening either. But it was weird.

Because I'm too lazy, and this is hilarious

So I know I've mentioned Disaster on Heels (or DoH as I like to call it). Hilarious blogger that I suggest you follow/keep up with on the reg (a la Other Hot Messes You Should Check Out)-------->
This was a post from Sunday and it's freakin hilarious. So instead of me blogging today, I'm just going to link over to her. She's on a fun little trip to Mexico for an undisclosed amount of time and her conversations with the locals and the visitors are quite humorous. Enjoy it here!

Could my Gaggle be Evolving this Valentine's Day?

Well this is absolutely NOT what I expected to happen this Valentine's Day. There's a new guy in my gaggle as of Friday night around 2am. I know what you're thinking. 2am. Friday night. Hmm...isn't it true that nothing good ever happens after 2am? But you'd be wrong. I know what else you might be thinking and no, I didn't make any poor decisions. I only exchanged numbers with a tall attractive man and he may or may not end up being a key player in my gaggle pretty soon.

10 Do's & Dont's if you're single on Valentine's day

Ah yes, the holiday that keeps Hershey's and Hallmark in business. The dreaded Valentine's day. I've had my share of Valentine's Days spent with the one I loved/lusted after/loathed/liked. I've also had my share of Single V-Days. And to be totally honest, as a real adult, I think I've enjoyed more single V-days than ones that I was in a relationship. But I do have to say my favorite ever Valentine's day, the one that no other has compared to, had to be the one with my first REAL boyfriend back in high school, Stuart. We were in 9th grade and had only started dating like a week earlier. We went to different schools so we didn't get to see each other every day, but were very much in the puppy love stage of our lives. It was all so innocent, so sweet. First kisses, first boy that I really got butterflies for, first boy who ever touched my boob (outside of the shirt of course), all very PG.

Spring's coming early and I'm holding on to my resolutions

Who else is excited? I know I am. The groundhog didn't see his shadow yesterday which means that we get an early spring! Which is totally awesome! Because with an early spring, that means the spring festivals will actually be worth attending because we won't be freezing our ta-tas off while trying to enjoy some quality day-drinking. Oysterfest is right around the corner, then there's the early Sham(Yacht) Rock Festival the first weekend in March, followed by the actual St Patty's day celebration. Before you know it, Steeplechase and the Derby will be making their annual appearances and all of a sudden it's SUMMER!

If this is the closest thing I have to a gaggle right now, FML.

You remember the Gaggle right? Well mine's been fairly non-existent recently and I think that's primarily my own doing. I've gone from "fairly fit and willing to date/putting myself out there" to "feeling fat and watching my roommate start a relationship and not wanting to meet anybody." So I've put what little semblance of a Gaggle I had on hold and I'm trying to focus on myself right now. My San-Fran bestie and I are starting a weight loss blog here (feel free to follow!) so if I'm lax on this blog, you can check out that one.

Despite my best efforts to cleanse myself of all men over the past few weeks, I found myself in the middle of the most pathetic gaggle-fest ever when I woke up Saturday morning. Friday was an interesting turn of events to say the least.

Snowpocalypse 2k11?? Wedding Weekend AND Return of the Sexter

Or do you prefer Snomageddon? Unless you've been stuck under a stupid rock, or under a pile full of snow, you're probably well aware that this week Atlanta got hit with a snowstorm. As did the rest of the country, minus the panhandle. Yep, Florida was the ONLY state in the US that had no snow on the ground as of Wednesday (including Hawaii). That is some effed up shit. Hawaii??? Seriously??? I didn't know that state could actually GET snow. Anyway, so yeah, I've been a little lax on the blog-end of life. For no real reason. I never lost power, Lord knows I didn't work ALL week from home. So what gives, right? Truth be told: I'm lazy. And had a lot of good TV to catch up on. My b.

Look Who Lost a BUNCH of Weight? I think that's what I'm shootin for...

...but that's like 200 lbs more than you already weigh...

So! First week at WW - well first week back I should say. I did WW back in 2008 and lost a bunch of weight (about 20 lbs) but I never really reached my lifetime goal and kind of got slack after a while. But it's a new year, and I'm ready to roll here (or get rid of my rolls actually), so on to the agenda. I am about to face my first big challenge: my best friend's sister's wedding.

New Year, New Me

I feel like I said this last year, but here I go again. Hopefully this year I can say "out with the old, and in with the hot semi-cleaned up mess. Yes friends, I'm going to try and clean up my act this year. And I must say that aside from the heavy drinking and poor food choices this weekend, I really may have turned over a new leaf.